November 11th, 2021

Yet another nightmare.  This one was about Hector, Wallace and Temperance.  They had killed Hector, shooting him several times with the same rifle Wallace used to blow his arm off.   That wasn't part of the dream that disturbed me.  It was Wallace and Temperance eating his amputated arm.  They were chewing in it like a fat slab of beef ribs.  The gnawing and gulping sounds still play back and forth in my head.  After they picked his arm clean down to the bones, they want back to Hector on his bed.  One of them, I can't remember which, had a nasty looking knife, almost like a cleaver.  They were going back for seconds, and then Hector's body shot upright.  He was turning fast, his skin decaying, sloughing off his skeleton, but then it stopped as quickly as it began. It started to harden, toughen up and turn into leather, and then the wings emerged.  All this happened in seconds, freezing Wallace and Temperance where they stood.  Hector got out of bed, nearly twice the size he was, having to crouch a bit or his disfigured head would rub against the ceiling  Tendrils of tissue began worming their way out of his shoulder, twisting around each other forming cords of muscle, and that muscle wound over itself until skin formed.  Hector now had his arm back, but it was not the same as before.  The cannibals wanted to run but couldn't, and then Hector leaped on both of them, one foot into each of their chests for purchase while grabbing their heads in each hand.  Hector straightened his body in one powerful motion, driving their bodies toward the ground and ripping their heads off their shoulders, spinal cords intact.  

I didn't even sit up from this one.  I opened my eyes, looking around the dark room, seeing my clock say 2:34 am, and then went back to sleep.  I have no recollection of what I dreamed after that.  After a breakfast of boiled eggs (Lucero is a god among men, because he has chickens), Kat went to work and I went to meet up with Theresa and a good number of other men from town.  Thaddeus was going to follow my plan, but the first step was trying to round up as many zombies as we could.  His target number was 100, but we didn't get anywhere near that.  Not only was the zombie population outside the gates sparse, but a storm moved in and the wind began blowing snow creating whiteout conditions.  We were lucky to bring back 15 leathers.  Two of them are so shot up it, might not be worth the effort stitching them back together again.  

All I know is at this rate, we're going to get attacked again before we have enough suits for the number of men that Thaddeus wants.  I don't believe we need 100, or even 50.  I honestly think no more than 30 would be good enough.  Besides, I'm not sure how many tracer rounds they have, but it would be better to send few people in with more ammunition per unit than it would be to send more men in with fewer bullets.  All you're really doing then is just offering up a buffet, and the plan involves us walking right past them until we find what we're looking for.  I'm going to bring that up tomorrow.  I'm really worrying about my friends, and the more days that pass, the more likely something bad's going to happen to them. 

I was tired from hunting zombies all day, but I still wanted more swimming lessons from Kat, so we braved the blizzard and made our way to the rec center.  It was really something to see all this snow piling up on lawns and cars and yet seeing none of it collect on the streets and sidewalks.  I just can't get over how cool these solar panels are!  If we ever make it out of this. I'm going to do my best to lobby for solar roadways across America.  

We also came across Corey on the way to the rec center.  He was perched in a tree, his eyes glowing from the reflection of the moon.  He looked like a sentry keeping an eye out for intruders on the horizon.  Upon seeing us, he hopped down from the tree and came over to us with a somewhat eager gait.  I held my hand out for him to sniff, which he then rubbed his face all over, and I gave him a scratch behind the ears, instantly flipping on his purr switch.  I saw the patches on his fur that had been singed by the flaming gargoyle yesterday, and winced a little.  This cat saved my life.  He is by far the most fascinating animal I have ever known. He's my hero.  

And speaking of heroes, today's Veteran's Day.  Today's the day we honor those heroes who gave their lives to protect our freedom.  But Veteran's Day is more than just about those who served in the military.  It now encompasses anyone who laid their lives down protecting those they loved from the undead.  This is a new war, unlike anything in the history of civilization, and everyone who fought in this war, whether they be civilian or military, deserves to be remembered and honored. 

After we spent an hour at the pool (I finally swam by myself! Although I still suck at it), we headed to the high school where the town of Rhinelander holds a barbecue every Veteran's Day.  They have a tradition where people take the podium and they talk about people they want to remember.  I was glad to hear some people reciting accounts of their heroes who fought against the undead.  I even spoke myself, talking about the attack that happened at Lock Haven, how Dustin and Carmello had given their lives to protect us all.  I named off everyone who got killed and as Rhinelander tradition, we gave a moment of peace after each speaker.  It was nice that they did this, and I was happy and fortunate to have viewed people getting together that actually honor the holiday instead of just using it as a day off from work or school to goof around.  

I didn't see Anthony all day today, and with good reason.  He probably doesn't want to show his face around me at least for a couple of days.  I'm really not that mad at him anymore, but who's to say I won't get infuriated at the sight of him again, but I honestly don't think it's a good idea to continue to keep this secret from the town.  If Chloe did somehow come down with vivensmortua, that means she was going to turn, or even infect other children with it.  If someone else is sick and no one notices in time, we could be looking at another zombie outbreak like they had in the past.  The truth will then come out, and the people will revolt for being lied to.  But what can I do?  I can't tell people about it because 1) I don't want to cause a panic if there's a chance that nothing will happen, and 2) I need this secret as leverage to make sure I get a car so that I can rescue our friends.  

Kat also threw up pretty hard this evening after we returned home.  It could be the pregnancy, or maybe it was just the fact that she wasn't used to eating so much meat.  She gorged herself, eating a hamburger, two link sandwiches, some baby back ribs and half of a chicken.  I'm shocked that this place is so well stocked up on meat, but I was told that just about every piece of meat that we traded for was kept for this day.  Well, it didn't do Kat any good.  

The snow's stopped by now, which is good.  Hopefully it won't pick up again tomorrow, and we can have better results hunting leathers.  We need to get ready for Stephen's Point ASAP.  

Until tomorrow.